Throughout California, water utilities are
offering incentives to customers for upgrading to efficient plumbing
fixtures. The most common form of incentive program in urban areas is the
"Toilet Rebate Program." Santa Rosa's water utility has implemented one of
these popular programs with some unique qualities which make this a "low
impact, low flow" program. These qualities include:

a minimum of time and money spent on
administration;

immediate inspection process and rebate
delivery;

assurance that the upgrade will stay in place.

Santa Rosa's Plumbing Rebate Program -- "Go Low
Flow" -- targets 40,000 residential and commercial utility connections in
an urban area with a population of 120,000. Both water conservation and
wastewater flow reduction goals drive the program from the city's General
Plan. Ultimate sizing of Santa Rosa's water and wastewater systems depends
on significant sustainable reduction in water use and wastewater flows
from water conservation measures.

A utility customer wanting
a rebate for upgrading toilets, showers and faucets has one of two
choices: contacting one of several participating plumbing contractors who
have signed an agreement with the city to abide by designated standards of
service and price; or installing the fixtures personally and completing
"rebate request forms" to receive the rebate. The city grants $100 for
replacing one toilet and all faucets and showers, and $50 for each
additional toilet changed. For the contractor installations, the rebate
amount is deducted from the customer's invoice, and then paid by the city
to the plumbing contractor; for the self-install option the rebate is a
credit to the utility bill. This arrangement minimizes administrative
impact to the city by reducing the number of rebate payments processed.

The current program has a
goal of reducing water use and wastewater flow by one million gallons per
day and is supported by a budget of $3.5 million over five years. This
savings is not linked to behavioral changes but to permanent hardware, so
it is sustainable. This "demand management" is actually a source of new
water supply and wastewater treatment/disposal capacity to the city.

To complete the "low
impact" theme, old toilets are crushed and recycled as road base, and
packaging cardboard for new toilets is also recycled.